Islam Pribumi. Der Islam der Einheimischhen, seine "Arabisierung" und arabische Diasporagemeinschaften in Indonesien

Abstract

Young intellectuals close to Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation, the Nahdlatul Ulama, are advocating an “Islam of the natives” (Islam Pribumi) which has developed in Indonesia over the past centuries and differs from Islam as it is practiced in the Arab world in many ways. This selfconfident discourse emphasises Indonesian cultural and religious practice and distances itself from “Arab” traditions perceived as foreign. The article explores this discourse in the light of the role Indonesians of Arab descent play as leading figures in radical Islamic organisations, which, according to the young intellectuals of the Nahdlatul Ulama, carry out an “Arabisation” of Indonesia. The article investigates this thesis of an Arabisation by analysing the position of the Arab community in the wider Indonesian society.